The first edition of Malaysia’s L’Etape Meleka by Tour de France attracted 3350 cycling enthusiasts from 47 counties, with former professional cyclist Mohd Hafidz Abd Hamid crowned overall champion of the 140km gran fondo.

He defeated Olympian Matthew Brittain in a tight sprint, both credited with a time of 3:20:31. Thomas Thong earned third place in 3:22:28.

“It was an unexpected win… Despite modest preparations, luck was on my side, and I managed to endure to win,” Mohd Hafidz Abd Hamid told the Citizens Journal afterwards.

While in the women’s race, South African Alicia Brittain, who is married to runner-up Matthew Brittain, won her second L’Etape after scoring her first last year at L’Etape Malaysia.

“I’m feeling over the moon. Every race, you start from zero and you don’t have any expectations. I’m just very happy that everything went to plan. It was a safe race, and I was able to keep up and win,“ she commented.

Ameline Tan and Rita Loh were next in the women’s gran fondo, with finishing times of 3:47:05 and 4:00:43 respectively.

Ray Soon won the 70km medio fondo in 1:53:09, sprinting for the win from a huge pack numbering more than 50. Hong Jeffrey Zheu Nian finished in second place and Mohammad Shahril Bin Abdullah took the final podium spot, both riders credited with a time of 1:53:10.

Lee Beeling won the women’s medio fondo in 1:53:52, followed by Myra Hayani Abdullah a few seconds later at 1:54:00 and Fanorziana Ahmad at 1:54:30.

Organizer Riduwan Matni could not have been more pleased with the huge turnout, “We are thrilled to bring L’Étape by Tour de France to Melaka for the first time and during the Visit Melaka Year 2024. The enthusiasm shown by riders and spectators is a testament to the growing cycling community in Asia.”

Complete L’Etape Meleka results HERE.

Photo Credit: Facebook/letapemalaysia

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